Procrastination is delaying or avoiding doing something we need to do. The Bible tells us about people who procrastinated. In Luke 9, we read about Jesus calling people to follow Him. One replied: ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father’ (v.59 NIV). ‘Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.”’ We might think that these seemed quite reasonable tasks to do before heading off to follow Jesus. But they delayed acting on God’s call, and we never find out if they do actually follow Jesus. We can often avoid doing what God’s calling us to do, and justify it by saying that the things we’re doing instead are just as important. But when God calls us, we need to act. Sometimes we procrastinate because we’re afraid of stepping out and doing something new. We worry that we’ll fail. Procrastination and perfectionism often go together. We avoid starting something so that we can’t get it wrong. But our failures teach us things, we grow and learn from them. God uses them to shape us. If we’re avoiding changing something in our life, or avoiding doing what God’s calling us to do, we need to take a look at our hearts and ask ourselves why. Just having good intentions to change something in our lifestyle, or to step out and do something new, isn’t enough. We need to make a move. We need to take a step in the right direction. Even if we get it wrong, God’s there to get us back on track. So let’s stop procrastinating and get started.

What Now?

What are you avoiding doing? Take the first step today. Ask God to fill you with courage to move forward.